When the original Skylanders game was released by Activision I thought it was cute. I didn’t see a whole lot of value in the game, and it was clear that Activision was gambling on a potential cash cow. Fortunately for them, the game is a lot of fun for all ages, and appeals to a large group of niche markets.

With 32 original characters to collect, and several expansion levels and collectors edition characters that were released, there was no shortage of content either. Now, the sequel to the Skylanders franchise is here, and the game itself has changed in many different but exciting ways.

Rather than behaving like an add on or a DLC, Skylanders Giants is a whole new game. This sequel is designed to allow you to bring your characters over from the previous game, something really only made possible as a result of the Skylanders design. Since all of the character data is stored on the physical model you can easily bring that character into the new game. In fact, any Skylander you bring from the original game to Giants will have an upgraded level cap. Your Skylanders will be able to reach level 15 and reap the benefits of the extra health and damage capabilities.

Like the original, you can complete the game if you are really talented with a minimal set of characters. If you decide to buy new models and expand your collection, you’ll be graced with additional content. Also, bonus levels like the Darklight Crypt also transfer to the new game for even more content.

Obviously Skylanders Giants becomes a lot more fun if you play as intended and actually pick up a Giant or two. The Skylanders Giants models are much bigger than the original models, and they bring their massive girth into the game world as well, giving you the advantage in most combat situations.

There’s one Giant for each of the Skylanders‘ elements. Giants are able to interact with enemies and the landscape in a very different way than normal Skylanders. These characters can pick up scenery from the world and use it as weapons against your opponents, or they can use their massive bodies to pull tethered islands to the mainland for exploration. If the previous game is any indicator it is likely that Kaos, the big baddie in the Skylanders world, has a Giant or two of his own to use against you in boss fights.

The Giants aren’t the only new thing coming to Skylanders. Many new characters have been added to the game that bring new weapons and abilities to their particular element. Some of these new models will be included in the new starter kits for the game, while many others will be accessible individually.

On top of the new characters, some of the popular characters from the previous game are being re-released with new talents. The Series 2 models, like Cinder for example, will have a new model with a new pose as well as a third tier of abilities that can be accessed. There’s also the Light Core models, which are advanced Skylanders. Each of the Light Core characters, to which there’s one per element, deal extra damage when they enter the world. Additionally, they posses extra hardware in the physical model that allow them to glow a special color when you place them on the portal.

Much of the actual gameplay will remain the same with Skylander Giants, but the new charcter types and abilities promise that the game will not only be more challenging, but encourage skilled users to be more creative in their quest to complete the entire game.

Like the previous game, Skylanders Giants will be available for just about every platform, and the characters are completely cross-platform. If you’re still playing the original game there’s a lot of backwards compatible content, but it is currently unclear as to exactly what will be compatible.

The Skylanders team has done a great job inventing all new ways to hit Skylanders fans in the wallet, but also managed to make it much more fun to play the game. The new game will be hitting stores sometime in October with starter kits for brand new users as well as users who already have a portal and an army of Skylanders.

Reader Comments

Will you only be able to get some of the skylanders with the starter pack or will they be available individually too. Like in Spyro’s Adventure you can only get dark spyro if you get the DS3 game.

malpass

can the original portal be used in skylanders giants or is there a new one to buy??

Zion

i cant wait my mom preordered the game for me and plus i have an additional 26 oh yeah baby bring it on :)

Guest

Can you still use the old portal from the original skylanders game?

steph

Same thing as the first. The “punch” pop fizz only comes with the 3ds pack

steph

Yes, but the new one has an attached cord so it doesn’t require batteries

lou-lou

hi can i use the 1st skylanders game with the giants or do i need to buy the starter pack for the giants ?

guest

My kids are SO disappointed that these new giants are NOT compatible with the Skylanders game they received for Christmas 2011! They did not understand why and did not see/understand the symbols on the front meant to communicate the compatibility. Beware of companies that market to excite children, but don’t make it abundantly clear that you need a whole new system, shutting out previous fans. I will NOT be upgrading and giving more $$ to Activision. Nasty way to make a buck.

malpass

the original portal can be used in skylanders giants

malpass

what is beter skylanders spyros adventure or skylanders giants

malpass

there some sexy skylanders

malpass

omg immmmmmmmmmmmm going tooooooooooooo get skylanders giants

http://www.facebook.com/oscarjrsmami Crystal Timmons Mora

you dont need a new system u just need the skylander universal game

PJG

cheers, just bought a skylander giant with my kids birthday money only to find that it is not compatible with original game.

Tammy

Are there some Giants not out in stores yet? How will I know when they become available to purchase?

guest

Quick Question……My son has all the original 32 skylanders. I have purchased the skylanders giants game for him for christmas and need to know if there are any advantages or need to purchase the same characters he already has just because they are now packaged in skylander giants packaging. Do they have different or better powers? I dont want to purchase the same characters he already has if they do the exact same thing.

Bill

The characters he has now are compatible with giants, as listed above, and they did release series 2 of most of the characters. They are a tad bit stronger, but most abilities are kept, so it’s really on your judgement to buy series 2 characters for collector purposes or what have you. There are new characters released, like Chill and Fright Rider, that you may want to pick up now before they sell out.

Stacie

So do you have to play the original Skylanders before you can buy the Giants?

jo1969

How many levels are on Skylanders Giants all together?

dylan

do we need to have the giant skylander

ChristmasShoppingMom

If we bought the original skylangers spyro for the wii and want the Giants version for the XBOX, can we use the same portal?

gillian

hi well cool sky landers but can u put how many sky lander giants u can collect thx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

gillian

yo dude thx

gillian

can i live with out sky lander giants or normal sky landers no thx how ever is out there how made them thx I LOVE U SKYLANDERS

Cindy

My son has the nintendo 3ds version of skylanderd original with portal. Do I need to buy a new portal for the Giants or just the game. Also if I wanted to buy the wii version do I need a special portal and do all the Giants work on different systems?? WHHEW!